MicroRNA-214 Antagonism Protects against Renal Fibrosis

Laura Denby*, Vasudev Ramdas, Ruifang Lu, Bryan R. Conway, Jennifer S. Grant, Brent Dickinson, Arin B. Aurora, John D. McClure, David Kipgen, Christian Delles, Eva van Rooij, Andrew H. Baker

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Renal tubulointerstitial fibrosis is the common end point of progressive renal disease. MicroRNA (miR)-214 and miR-21 are upregulated in models of renal injury, but the function of miR-214 in this setting and the effect of its manipulation remain unknown. We assessed the effect of inhibiting miR-214 in an animal model of renal fibrosis. In mice, genetic deletion of miR-214 significantly attenuated interstitial fibrosis induced by unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO). Treatment of wild-type mice with an anti-miR directed against miR-214 (anti-miR-214) before UUO resulted in similar antifibrotic effects, and in vivo biodistribution studies demonstrated that anti-miR-214 accumulated at the highest levels in the kidney. Notably, in vivo inhibition of canonical TGF- signaling did not alter the regulation of endogenous miR-214 or miR-21. Whereas miR-21 antagonism blocked Smad 2/3 activation, miR-214 antagonism did not, suggesting that miR-214 induces antifibrotic effects independent of Smad 2/3. Furthermore, TGF- blockade combined with miR-214 deletion afforded additional renal protection. These phenotypic effects of miR-214 depletion were mediated through broad regulation of the transcriptional response to injury, as evidenced by microarray analysis. In human kidney tissue, miR-214 was detected in cells of the glomerulus and tubules as well as in infiltrating immune cells in diseased tissue. These studies demonstrate that miR-214 functions to promote fibrosis in renal injury independent of TGF- signaling in vivo and that antagonism of miR-214 may represent a novel antifibrotic treatment in the kidney.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)65-80
Number of pages16
JournalJournal of the American Society of Nephrology
Volume25
Issue number1
Early online date31 Dec 2013
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2014

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

  • GROWTH-FACTOR-BETA
  • URETERAL OBSTRUCTION
  • NA+/CA2+ EXCHANGER
  • INJURY
  • INHIBITION
  • EXPRESSION
  • SIGNATURE
  • APOPTOSIS
  • MIR-21
  • KIDNEY

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